Dreamy Bread
by December
Summary: flashfic for Mac-alicious. There is reason our lives aren't narrated. Even in dreams, we don't want to know what others are thinking. Inside a strange Dasey-hinted dream. Don't worry, there is food. A commerical parody


_**This is a Flashfic for Mac-alicious. The prompt and further notes are below. Thanks so much to moirariordan and gure for their eyes on this. The mistakes and the crazy idea is mine. I blame it on hearing too**_ _**many Panera Bread commercials and finding out they are opening a Panera in Toronto. Oh yeah, and clearly, I don't own LWD.**_

He has barely pulled into the parking space before she has her seat belt off and the door open. "Were you trying to kill us back there?"

"Chill, princess. We're here aren't we?"

"Here" is the new place that had just opened in Toronto. In thinking about it, he isn't sure why they are there. Toronto was over an hour drive from London. But Casey does have a list in her hand, so they must have a reason. Ignoring the strangeness of the whole thing, he walks with her toward the door.

_"A young couple enters Panera Bread on a specific errand."_

He suddenly stops just inside the door and looks around. "Um, Case? Did you just hear something?"

Casey looks up from her list, annoyed. "No. Look, let's just get this over with. The sooner we can get back and you can go pick up whatever bimbo you have waiting for you."

"Harsh, much?" Derek asks as he opens the door. Walking toward the counter, he looks up to see the menu. "Whoa. That's a lot of options."

_"He says, slightly overwhelmed. But his companion isn't worried. Reaching out to touch him…"_

"Der-ek!" Casey objects to his sudden movement. "Why did you jump?"

"Casey, are you sure you don't hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It sounds like…narration."

"Narration? That's a big word for you."

"Case-"

"Look, I'm not letting you scare me this time, and I'm making you help me." Grabbing his arm, Casey pulls Derek to her. "Now, can you read this word?"

_"She says as she thrusts a piece of paper toward him."_

"Derek!"

"Oh, sorry," he blinks as he shakes his head. Looking at the handwriting in front of him, he squints for a moment. "I think it says…basil? But what does that have to do with bread?"

"Oh," Casey looks up excited as she points to the menu board. "She must mean the Tomato Basil bread. Good then. Let's order."

_"The lady pulls her companion toward the counter. He's distractedly looking around the store, but continues to allow her arm to remain hooked to his."_

"Welcome to Panera; may I take your order?" the cashier asks, smiling flirtatiously at the young man.

"Derek, order already!" Casey finally says after trying unsuccessfully to get the cashier's attention several times.

"Oh, yeah. We need a loaf of Honey Wheat, sliced, to go."

_"The cashier smiles as she keys in the order, but frowns as she notices the couple's hooked arms and the male's decided lack of notice of her."_

"How nice of you to help out your cousin," the cashier smiles at the young man.

"She's not my cousin," Derek says as he continues to survey his surroundings, trying to find the source of the voice.

_"With his own agenda in mind, the young man ignores the perky blonde clerk, to her dismay and the clear joy of the woman still hooked to his arm."_

"This is freaky," Derek mutters quietly.

"Well, I'll go get that sliced for you," the cashier says as she steps away.

Casey and Derek stand in silence for a few moments, arms still linked. Casey seems to patiently wait; Derek, on the other hand is in deep concentration, waiting to hear if "the voice" will speak again. All he hears are the noises associated with the lunch rush at a café.

"The things I do for your mother," Derek finally says after he hadn't heard "the voice" for a few moments.

"Oh please," Casey snorts. "You are only doing this because you know she'll make you something to eat out of it,"

"Duh, that too," Derek agrees.

_"The cashier returns with the sliced bread and an unhappy look."_

Derek jumps slightly at the re-appearance of "the voice", but the females around him still seemed unfazed.

"Anything else?" the cashier asks, less cheerful than before.

"Oh, and two bear claws as well," Casey replies, having finally caught the attention of the cashier.

"Two bear claws?"

_"The young man turns to face his companion in surprise."_

"Those aren't on the list, are they?" Derek asks.

"Of course not," Casey answers. "I just didn't want to hear you complain about being hungry on the ride home."

"Wow, Space Case. That almost seems…nice."

_"The young man smirks at his companion."_

"This doesn't mean you get to drive home," Derek asserts.

"I didn't think it did," Casey smiles back, both of them ignoring the annoyed cashier who was repeating the total due for the third time.

_"And so, another connection is made over breaking bread at Panera Bread."_

"Okay, Casey, you had to have heard that! What the F-"

Oddly enough, before he finishes the sentence, he is again pulling into a parking space. Like before, his female companion is unbuckled and out of the car before it completely stops. Although the female looks a little like the first female to exit his car, she seems less prissy, even though she looks neat in her fitted jeans and her 'Real Girls Play Soccer' shirt.

"Seriously, how has your license not been suspended?"

"Jeez! It was not that bad. Besides that thing in the intersection was totally not my fault."

"Casey was so right about you."

At that point, Derek begins to comment, but thinks better of it as he approaches the doors to the establishment. "Are you sure you need help with this, Liz?"

"Yes! Now, come on."

"_A man and his step-sister enter Panera Bread on a mission." _

"Oh, crap. Not again," Derek says under his breath.

"_The female turns to her brother to make a point."_

"Oh, no. No. Absolutely not! You are not wigging out on me. Planner Barbie Casey is enough to deal with at this point. You CANNOT start acting stupid on me, too, whether you have a good reason or not."

"_The male is puzzled by his sister's statement, especially the part where she added' whether you have a good reason', but he isn't given much time to ponder this as she reaches out tap his –"_

"What was the flinching for? Look, please, let's do this and get out. I now understand why Casey made all of those bread runs herself over the last few years."

"_The male shakes his head, determined to block out the annoying narration as his step-sister tries to find an open cashier. At first she moves toward the blonde, but noticing the blonde is shooting daggers at her step-brother, she opts for the attractive male cashier two stations down." _

"The sooner we pick up this custom order, the better," Lizzie insists. "Although why they had to come from here, I do not know."

"_As the siblings approach the cashier, he smiles besottedly at the female. She doesn't notice; her brother growls." _

"Welcome to Panera; may I help you?" the cashier asks

"Yes, we are here to pick up a special order for McDonald."

"I'll go and see if it is ready."

"_The cashier smiled cheerfully as he checked out the oblivious girl. Her companion notices and growls again. This causes some annoyance on the part of his sister, forcing her to comment." _

"Derek, I get that you aren't happy about the whole Casey's engagement party thing. I agree, to some extent. Her fiancé is a total tool, but growling and pouting about it does nothing. You snooze, you lose."

"_The male turns to look at his sister, annoyed because she missed the reason he was growling. At least the major conscious reason he was growling."_

"Shit," Derek mutters as he begins to look for the voice again.

"_The cashier returns with a big box and a smile, which fades a little in looking at the male on the other side of the counter. Setting the box down, he decides to test out the waters, by asking…" _

"Does your boyfriend need assistance getting these to the car?"

"He's not my boyfriend," Lizzie laughs

"_Noticing the renewed interest in the cashier's eyes, the male leans toward the cashier." _

"I'm not her boyfriend, but I am her brother. So why don't you get back to work?"

"_Gulping, the cashier punches in information from the pre-order sheet on the top of the box."_

"That's four hundred bear claws at one ninty-five each –"

"_The male stops listening, surprised by the pastries they were coming to pick up."_

"Bear claws? Why did she order bear claws, Lizzie?"

"_Clearly annoyed with the errand, the stress around the house, and her step-brother's cluelessness, the female groans before she replies" _

"I don't know, Derek!" Lizzie spits out, channeling a younger version of her older sister briefly. "She said something about sentimental value and that they were good here. Or was that about the flowers?"

"_Pinning him with her eyes, the sister makes a demand."_

"Look, let's just get these and get out of here. Casey was right. This place does weird you out."

"_And so, stress is lessened, messages are received, and events are pondered. Another day at Panera Bread." _

Derek turns his back to the cashier and leans against the counter, his hand on his face in an attempt to lessen his headache. "Holy F-"

The third time he pulls the car in the parking space it does not seem so weird. This time his companion does not exit right away. She seems almost swallowed up by the seat and everything around her.

"We've stopped," Derek says. "Are you okay?"

"I guess," she whispers backs.

"Are you hungry?" he asks, more gently than he thought he would. "We could get something to eat."

"Alright," she agrees

As they exit the car, Derek takes a deep breath before opening the door. He has a feeling it is going to happen again.

"_A bride and a groom enter Panera Bread after leaving the church." _

"A bride _and_ groom? I wish," Derek mutters under his breath.

"_The bride doesn't hear what her tux wearing companion mutters. Instead, holding up her white dress so that she does not trip, she turns in a circle, taking in their surroundings." _

"Why are we here, Derek?" Casey asks in a small voice. "Are you trying to say something?"

"_Looking at the wounded look in the already tear-stained face, the male winces. He rushes to explain himself, with the truth for once, hoping to lessen her anxiety and pain." _

"No. Coming here wasn't planned. With everything that was happening, when you looked and me and said 'Get me out of here,' I didn't have a destination in mind. I just drove and ended up here."

"_Satisfied with his answer, the bride falls silent. Confusion, anger, and hurt over the fallout of the last few days, months, and years fly through her head."_

"Case," Derek says quietly as he puts his hands on her shoulders. "This isn't your fault. Sean's an asshole. Don't be hurt; be pissed."

"_The bride smiles sadly as she looks at her companion. He completely misunderstands the reason she's sad and hurt. She is righteously angry about Sean; she is torn up about the other thing." _

"I still can't believe he'd been cheating on me with her," Casey finally says as she ignores Derek's puzzled look. "And then the whole scene at the church-"

"Want me to kick his ass?"

"Fighting doesn't solve anything,"

"_The female parrots, although she is secretly happy, hopeful, and touched that he offered." _

"Casey, you did know that I'd offer to beat him up, right? No one is supposed to treat you like crap."

"Except you."

"_The bride smiles, but then looks off into space, thoughts whizzing around her already jumbled mind. She is so lost in thought that she doesn't hear the groom the first few times he calls her." _

"Space Case, hello? Come on back."

"_Inwardly smiling at the nickname she hadn't heard in years, one of her favorites, her companion returns her attention to the present." _

"This is just not how I thought my wedding would go."

"_The female says, reflecting inwardly that she is more bothered by the fact that she had not been about to marry the man she wanted. Ignoring the start of her companion, the female took a deep breath." _

"So…what do we do now?"

"_She asks, after a pause, realizing how much she is actually asking."_

"We get food?" Derek asks hopefully.

"You Venturi men and your stomachs," Casey shakes her head. "Okay, let's go get a Bear Claw."

"A Bear Claw?"

"And two forks,"

"_The bride nods and she makes her way to the cashier to order." _

"We are going to share this one," Casey insists.

"Like we should have shared the first two?"

"Exactly."

"_And so, a new beginning and pact over pastry. And it all started at Panera Bread." _

Casey stops suddenly, a few feet before she reaches the counter. "Derek? Did you hear something?

Derek laughs, amused that after all of these years she finally hears something. "Nope. Not a thing."

With a gasp, Derek sat straight up in bed. What in the world did that dream mean? He obviously had internalized way too much of the commercial about the new US export to Canada. And the fact that he was dreaming about food and a bread shop wasn't surprising; it did involve food, after all.

What made the dream strange were the comments that the "commercial" narrator made, often implying that he and Casey were a couple of some sort. But they were not a couple. Sure, he didn't check out the female cashier when they were at the counter. Admittedly, he wouldn't have known she was a blonde if the narrator hadn't said, but that didn't mean anything. He was stuck on an errand with Casey. It was hard to notice stuff when she was around.

And sure, he growled a lot when he was on the errand with Lizzie. But she was his sister, after a fashion, and the creepy cashier was leering at her. He wouldn't have let him leer at Marti or Casey, either. Although, with Casey he might have let the little peon think they were dating. That would be guaranteed to drive Casey crazy.

The last few moments of the dream were just plain strange. It figures that organized Keener Casey would have some kind of wedding melt-down when that big day happened. He still remembered the mess that was her aunt Fiona's wedding. Yet the narrator's comments had to be just wrong! Besides being in Casey's head and not his, it implied that she cared about him, decidedly not as a brother.

Derek groaned as he put his head in his hands. Even when he was asleep, Casey had a way of pushing into his dreams to play drama queen.

'And there is nothing weird about that!' Derek quickly reassured himself in his mind. Space Case just demanded attention when you were with her in person; of course a dream version would be just as high maintenance. The only reason their arms remained linked in the dream was that Derek was looking for the creepy narrator. The only reason he was growling at the cashier is because he was acting sleazy around Lizzie. The only reason he touched Casey so often is she really looked distressed in the aftermath of the failed wedding and he did NOT do tears. The fact that being linked with Casey throughout the dream, in some way or another, felt right had absolutely nothing to do with anything. At all.

Maybe with some food in his system, he'd believe his own rationalizations. Derek shook his head as he slowly got out of bed. One thing was certain. He did NOT want a sandwich or a pastry as a midnight snack.

- the end -

_**The prompt was: **__**Dasey. Fic involving a dream and subsequent reactions. (I don't know this is kind of vague, have fun with it if you choose). **_

_**I'm sorry there was only one reaction, but my brain could come up with a second one. Hope you enjoyed in Mac-alicious.**_


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